County Air Ambulance
Encyclopedia
The Midlands Air Ambulance (formerly County Air Ambulance) is a United Kingdom
regional helicopter emergency medical service. It operates three Eurocopter EC 135
helicopters during daylight hours as air ambulance
s in the Midlands region of England
.
At launch, the Midlands Air Ambulance operated a single helicopter based at Halfpenny Green Airport
and, at its peak, had grown to operating three Eurocopter EC 135
aircraft covering 8000 square miles (20,719.9 km²) across twelve counties of Central England and Wales. The reduction in areas covered began in 2006 and was largely due to other air ambulance charities setting up or expanding and to consolidation of West Midlands Ambulance Service
(WMAS) assets in the WMAS areas of responsibility. The operating name was changed back to Midlands Air Ambulance in 2009 to reflect the smaller area covered.
and the Chief Executive of that service also serves as the charity's Chief Executive. The charity is funded entirely by charitable donations given by corporate organisations and members of the public.
In 2007/2008, the charity had an income of £6,222,000.
The charity should not be confused with the County Air Ambulance Trust, which is a separate registered charity. That charity raises money for the provision of infrastructure items (such as helipads at hospitals) and also make an annual contribution towards a number of air ambulance charities, including the Midlands Air Ambulance.
helicopters based at RAF Cosford
, Tatenhill Airfield
and at Strensham services
respectively. The service covers the English counties of Worcestershire
, Shropshire
, Staffordshire
, Gloucestershire
, Herefordshire
, the West Midlands
, and the English/Welsh border area.
helicopter in order to provide an air ambulance service. Each helicopter is crewed by one pilot and two paramedics, or, occasionally, one paramedic and one doctor. The paramedics are selected from the ambulance service nearest their base. These services include the West Midlands Ambulance Service
and the Great Western Ambulance Service
. Until 31 March 2008, they also operated for the East Midlands Ambulance Service
(EMAS) based at East Midlands airport but, after some political wrangling between WMAS and EMAS, the aircraft was withdrawn and redeployed into Tatenhill, Staffordshire
, despite the presence of the nearby Cosford aircraft. The move was spun publicly as the launch of the Staffordshire Air Ambulance.
As with a number of other air ambulance charities in the UK, the pilots, aircraft and support engineers are provided by Bond Air Services
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
regional helicopter emergency medical service. It operates three Eurocopter EC 135
Eurocopter EC 135
The Eurocopter EC135 is a twin-engine civil helicopter produced by Eurocopter, widely used amongst police and ambulance services and for executive transport. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules .-Development:...
helicopters during daylight hours as air ambulance
Air ambulance
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....
s in the Midlands region of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
History
The Midlands Air Ambulance was first registered as a charity in 1990, and started using the County Air Ambulance name in 1993. The role of the charity is the provision of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) in the Midland Counties of England.At launch, the Midlands Air Ambulance operated a single helicopter based at Halfpenny Green Airport
Wolverhampton Airport
Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport , formerly Halfpenny Green Airport and Wolverhampton Business Airport, locally Bobbington Airport, is a small, airport situated near the village of Bobbington, South Staffordshire...
and, at its peak, had grown to operating three Eurocopter EC 135
Eurocopter EC 135
The Eurocopter EC135 is a twin-engine civil helicopter produced by Eurocopter, widely used amongst police and ambulance services and for executive transport. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules .-Development:...
aircraft covering 8000 square miles (20,719.9 km²) across twelve counties of Central England and Wales. The reduction in areas covered began in 2006 and was largely due to other air ambulance charities setting up or expanding and to consolidation of West Midlands Ambulance Service
West Midlands Ambulance Service
The West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the second-largest ambulance service in the UK. It is the authority responsible for providing NHS ambulance services in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire.It is one of 12 Ambulance Trusts...
(WMAS) assets in the WMAS areas of responsibility. The operating name was changed back to Midlands Air Ambulance in 2009 to reflect the smaller area covered.
Organization
The charity is managed by senior paramedics from within the West Midlands Ambulance ServiceWest Midlands Ambulance Service
The West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the second-largest ambulance service in the UK. It is the authority responsible for providing NHS ambulance services in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire.It is one of 12 Ambulance Trusts...
and the Chief Executive of that service also serves as the charity's Chief Executive. The charity is funded entirely by charitable donations given by corporate organisations and members of the public.
In 2007/2008, the charity had an income of £6,222,000.
The charity should not be confused with the County Air Ambulance Trust, which is a separate registered charity. That charity raises money for the provision of infrastructure items (such as helipads at hospitals) and also make an annual contribution towards a number of air ambulance charities, including the Midlands Air Ambulance.
Coverage
The Midlands Air Ambulance service is provided using three Eurocopter EC 135Eurocopter EC 135
The Eurocopter EC135 is a twin-engine civil helicopter produced by Eurocopter, widely used amongst police and ambulance services and for executive transport. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules .-Development:...
helicopters based at RAF Cosford
RAF Cosford
RAF Cosford is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton.-History:...
, Tatenhill Airfield
Tatenhill Airfield
Tatenhill Airfield is a licensed airfield operated by Tatenhill Aviation Ltd, located west of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England.Tatenhill Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the...
and at Strensham services
Strensham services
Strensham services is a motorway service station on the M5 in Worcestershire, England. In August 2011, it was rated as 4 stars and 3 stars by quality assessors at Visit England....
respectively. The service covers the English counties of Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, and the English/Welsh border area.
Helicopters
The Midlands Air Ambulance was the first charity in the United Kingdom to use the Eurocopter EC 135Eurocopter EC 135
The Eurocopter EC135 is a twin-engine civil helicopter produced by Eurocopter, widely used amongst police and ambulance services and for executive transport. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules .-Development:...
helicopter in order to provide an air ambulance service. Each helicopter is crewed by one pilot and two paramedics, or, occasionally, one paramedic and one doctor. The paramedics are selected from the ambulance service nearest their base. These services include the West Midlands Ambulance Service
West Midlands Ambulance Service
The West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the second-largest ambulance service in the UK. It is the authority responsible for providing NHS ambulance services in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire.It is one of 12 Ambulance Trusts...
and the Great Western Ambulance Service
Great Western Ambulance Service
The Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust is a UK National Health Service trust providing emergency and non emergency patient transport services to Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire in the South West England region...
. Until 31 March 2008, they also operated for the East Midlands Ambulance Service
East Midlands Ambulance Service
East Midlands Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust provides emergency 999, urgent care and patient transport services for the 4.8 million people within the East Midlands region of the UK - covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire , Northamptonshire and...
(EMAS) based at East Midlands airport but, after some political wrangling between WMAS and EMAS, the aircraft was withdrawn and redeployed into Tatenhill, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, despite the presence of the nearby Cosford aircraft. The move was spun publicly as the launch of the Staffordshire Air Ambulance.
As with a number of other air ambulance charities in the UK, the pilots, aircraft and support engineers are provided by Bond Air Services
Bond Air Services
Bond Air Services, part of Bond Aviation Group, are the largest operators of Air Ambulance and Police aviation units in the UK . Using mainly Eurocopter EC-135 and Bolkow BO-105 helicopters, they operate from 17 bases around the UK and have 2 headquarters, Staverton and Glasgow.Bond is headquarters...
.
See also
- Air Ambulances in the United KingdomAir Ambulances in the United KingdomThere are a number of air ambulance services in the United Kingdom using either helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft. Thirty helicopters, all operated by commercial companies and funded by charitable organisations, cover England and Wales...
- Police aviation in the United KingdomPolice aviation in the United KingdomPolice aviation in United Kingdom provides the British police with an aerial support unit to assist them in pursuit, surveillance and tracking....
- Emergency Medical Retrieval ServiceEmergency Medical Retrieval ServiceThe Emergency Medical Retrieval Service , is an airborne medical initiative operating in the West of Scotland. It provides patients in remote and rural areas with rapid access to the skills of a consultant in emergency or intensive care medicine as well as facilitating transfers to larger, better...
- Dorset and Somerset Air AmbulanceDorset and Somerset Air AmbulanceThe Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is a registered charity, which uses a helicopter to provide an air ambulance service to the English counties of Dorset and Somerset. The air ambulance came into service in March 2000, following the success of similar schemes, such as Devon Air Ambulance Trust...
- Devon Air Ambulance TrustDevon Air Ambulance TrustThe Devon Air Ambulance is an organisation providing emergency medical services through the provision of two helicopter air ambulances covering the county of Devon in the South West of England, United Kingdom...
- Cornwall Air AmbulanceCornwall Air AmbulanceThe Cornwall Air Ambulance is a dedicated helicopter emergency service for the English county of Cornwall. The helicopter flies approximately 1000 missions per annum, having flown over 20,000 missions. When introduced on 1 April 1987, Cornwall's Air ambulance became the first dedicated Helicopter...
- Great North Air AmbulanceGreat North Air AmbulanceThe Great North Air Ambulance Service is an English charity based in the United Kingdom. It provides air ambulance services across the North of England from the Scottish border south to North Yorkshire in the east and Cumbria in the west. It currently operates two helicopters, one near Penrith,...
- Scottish Air Ambulance